Ice Cream Day
I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream! Mint Choc Chip, Vanilla, chocolate… there are hundreds of flavours of Ice Cream to taste, hopefully, the good old British weather will improve so we can enjoy more of this dessert delight out in the sunshine.
Since childhood, this treat has been defined by the sound of the Ice Cream van driving down the street, although my parents told me if the music was playing it meant they’d run out!
Ice Cream month and day (21 July) was originally created in the US in conjunction with President Ronald Reagan and Walter Dee Huddleston, a Senator from Kentucky. On the backs of this official declaration, the Ice Cream companies began encouraging people to go out and enjoy this cold delight as often as possible during the month of July.
Ice Cream was first said to be created in Ancient Greece before the idea of a freezer ever came to pass. The so-called “Ice Cream” was incredibly simple, being a mixture of snow honey and fruit, but it was still the beginnings of a great tradition.
The first true Ice Cream was said to be introduced by Catherine de Medici in the 16th century. So impressed was Charles I of England (one hundred years after this introduction) that he paid to keep the formula secret, making ice cream a royal prerogative and utterly unobtainable by the common man. The first recorded recipes didn’t exist until the 18th century.
Why not take the time to make your own ice cream during Ice Cream Month and enjoy the fruits of your labour on a hot summer evening and share with us on social the creations you have made!
Raspberry & Dark Chocolate Cheat’s Ice Cream Terrine
Prep time: 20 mins
Freezing time: 8 hrs
Serves 8-10
Try this easy terrine for dessert, layered with ice cream, dark chocolate and marbled with a zingy raspberry purée. Prepare it ahead to wow your guests.
Source: BBC Good Food
Ingredients
- 225g raspberries
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 400ml double cream
- 1 tbsp vanilla paste
- 275g condensed milk
- 200g dark chocolate, melted and cool slight, plus extra for topping
Method
Line a 900g loaf tin with two sheets of overlapping baking parchment, leaving some overhanging on all sides of the tin. Put 175g of the raspberries, caster sugar and lemon juice in a pan over medium heat and simmer for 3 mins until softened slightly. Tip into a food processor or use a hand blender to blitz until smooth.
Whisk the double cream, vanilla and condensed milk using an electric whisk until soft peaks form. Pour in the raspberry purée, then stir carefully a few times to marble the raspberry through the cream.
Tip the remaining raspberries into the base of the lined tin. Cover with a third of the cream mixture, spreading it out evenly. Tap the tin down on a surface so that the mixture covers the raspberries. Using a spoon, drizzle over half of the melted chocolate to cover the cream. Top with another third of the cream mixture and spread it out. Drizzle over the remaining chocolate and top with the remaining cream.
Use the overhanging parchment to cover the top of the tin, using more parchment if it doesn’t cover the terrine completely, and freeze for at least 8 hrs, or overnight. Before serving, let the ice cream sit at room temperature for 10 mins. Tip upside down and remove from the tin, and drizzle with a little more melted chocolate to decorate. Run boiling water over your knife, wipe dry, and slice to serve.
Easy Eton Mess Ice Cream
Prep time: 20 mins
Freezing time: 5 hrs 30 mins
Serves 4-6
Serve our Eton mess ice cream in bowls or cones for some proper nostalgia. With vanilla custard, meringue and fresh strawberries, it’s deliciously decadent.
Source: BBC Good Food
Ingredients
- 400g strawberries, hulled and finely sliced
- 50g caster sugar
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 500g fresh vanilla custard
- 200ml double cream
- 50g shop-bought meringues, roughly crushed
- Ice cream cones, to serve
Method
Tip the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice into a bowl and toss well. Cover and leave to macerate.
Whisk the custard and cream together in a shallow freezer-proof container with a lid until combined. Freeze for 1 hr 30 mins-2 hrs until semi-frozen. If you have a large freezer and a blender, place the jug of the blender in the freezer alongside the ice cream to get cold (this is not essential). Scrape the semi-frozen custard into the blender and pulse until it’s the texture of a thick smoothie. Pour back into the container and freeze for another 1-2 hrs until it is the texture of soft-serve ice cream. If you don’t have a blender, use a whisk to break up the custard.
When the custard is ready, spoon the macerated strawberries over the top, leaving most of the syrup in the bowl. Stir the strawberries and a few of the meringue pieces through the custard, then scatter most of the remaining meringues over the top. Freeze for at 3 hrs until the ice cream is scoopable, or overnight. Can be made up to three days ahead and frozen. Leave to soften slightly before serving. Scoop the ice cream into bowls or cones and serve topped with the remaining meringue and strawberry syrup.
Chocolate Velvet Ice Cream
Prep time: 15 mins
Freezing time: 2 hrs 45 mins
Serves 8
If you like dark chocolate and ice cream you’ll love this recipe, which is reminiscent of frozen chocolate mousse. This recipe contains raw eggs. It is recommended that pregnant women, young children and the elderly do not consume raw eggs.
Source: All Recipes
Ingredients
- 125g caster sugar
- 5 tbsp good quality cocoa powder
- 3 egg yolks, beaten
- 600ml double cream
- 50g dark chocolate, finely grated
Method
In a large bowl, stir together sugar and cocoa. Add egg yolks and blend with an electric mixer. Add cream a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator.
While the cream mixture is chilling, grate chocolate in a food processor or using a box grater, until fine. Stir into the cream mixture. Freeze in a canister of ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Double Honey Ice Cream
Prep time: 30 mins
Freezing time: 2 hrs
Serves 8
Ice cream is mandatory during the summer and homemade tastes even better. This delicious honey ice cream will soon become a family favourite and is the perfect way to finish a BBQ.
Ingredients
- 225g runny honey
- 550ml double cream
- 250ml whole milk
- 6 large eggs, yolks only
For the honeycomb
- 125g golden caster sugar
- 1 tbsp runny honey
- 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of sida
- Waffle ice cream cones, to serve
Method
Start by making the ice cream. Warm the honey in a small pan over low heat. In another pan heat the cream and milk together until just below boiling point. Whisk the egg yolks together in a large bowl until combined.
Pour the hot cream mixture over the eggs whisking constantly. Return the whole lot to the pan and set over low heat, stirring constantly until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Strain into a clean bowl and add the warmed honey and mix thoroughly. Cool and then chill for at least 2 hours before churning in an ice cream machine following the manufacturer’s instructions.
To make the honeycomb tip the caster sugar into a saucepan and add the honey and 4-5 tbsp water. Bring slowly to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Continue to boil steadily until the caramel becomes honey-coloured. Add the bicarbonate of soda and, working very quickly, swirl the pan to mix evenly. Immediately pour into a greased baking tin set on a heatproof surface and leave until the honeycomb is completely cold and brittle.
Break the honeycomb into pieces and gently mix through the ice cream mixture. Tip into a freezer-proof container and freeze until needed. Serve the ice cream in generous scoops in waffle cones.
Whipped Avocado with Frozen Yogurt & Meringue
Prep time: 5 hrs
Freezing time: 8 hrs
Serves 8
This recipe for whipped avocado with frozen yogurt and meringue comes from chef Merlin Labron-Johnson and proves avocado can do everything.
Source: Olive Magazine
Ingredients
- 80g caster sugar
- 4 ripe avocados, stoned
- 2 limes, juiced plus zest to serve
For the meringue
- 4 egg whites
- 100g caster sugar
- 80g icing sugar
For the yogurt sorbet
- 70g caster sugar
- 500g full-fat natural yogurt
- 2 lemons, zested and juiced
Method
Heat the oven to 110C/fan 90C/gas ¼. Start with the meringue. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks with electric beaters, then start to slowly add the caster sugar 1 tbsp at a time, while whisking continuously at medium speed. Once all of the caster sugar is incorporated, add the icing sugar gradually, whisking until you have a stiff and glossy meringue. Line several baking sheets with baking paper then spread the meringue over the paper as thinly as possible and put in the oven to dry but not colour – this could take up to 5 hours, but check after 3 hours. It should feel dry and brittle. Cool and peel away the paper. Store in an airtight container.
For the yogurt sorbet, boil the sugar and 70ml water together until it makes a clear syrup that coats the back of a spoon, then leave it to cool. Mix the yogurt with the syrup, lemon juice and zest. Pass through a sieve and then churn in an ice-cream maker until frozen. Tip into a freezable container and freeze until ready to serve.
Make another syrup, as above, by boiling 80g sugar with 80ml water, then leave it to cool to room temperature. Scoop the flesh out of the avocados and put in a blender with the lime juice. Add the syrup and blend until smooth and creamy. The natural fats in the avocado should emulsify and the mixture should become smooth and glossy. Cover the surface with clingfilm and chill.
Spoon the avocado cream onto 4 plates, add a scoop of frozen yogurt on top and cover with shards of meringue. Finish with lime zest.
